I came across a TikTok a few weeks ago that discussed why breast cancer has so much awareness around it and I thought it would be the perfect topic to write about, being that the month of October was just among us all. October is breast cancer awareness month but why does no other illness receive the same international support that breast cancer does? A distinctive trait of breast cancer campaigns is their ability to transform a painful, deadly illness into something delicately feminine and even glamorous. I guess the reason for this comes from the source that breast cancer affects, well, breasts. I connected this topic to Ortiz Cofer’s Story Of My Body. Cofer’s body image was criticized due to societal values, image standards, and cultural differences, thus giving her a different perception of the world. In the short video I watched, her 2-year-old daughter had recently passed away in June to a rare and aggressive cancer known as a rhabdoid tumor. In other cancers and serious diseases/illnesses, especially children’s cancer, there is no way to sexualize it, so it doesn’t sell or get this sort of attention/support behind it. This is so unfortunate for those fighting breast cancer because it is still a serious battle but awareness ads themselves show images of nude women in which their faces were either cropped out or turned away. The focus, of course, was entirely on the breasts.  It is about the actual lives of the people to which the breasts are attached that are at risk. I find it insulting and objectifying to women that the salvation of the fatty tissue on their chest seems to be valued above their actual experience as women battling a deadly cancer. The sexualization of the female body is not the only exploitative enterprise that comes from breast cancer awareness support. Every year, corporations take advantage of the widespread support to sell their own products. The transformation of breast cancer into an illness with a palatable face has created a level of hype that lends itself to incredibly successful marketing for corporations. The American society places too high of a value on looks and physical appearance.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM8efbX4G/

Last year the murder of George Floyd brought about a wave of protests after his untimely death. A situation escalated from Mr. Floyd using a counterfeit $20 bill, to his eventual death by a police officer through suffocation. Mr. Floyd pleaded for his life, telling the police officers he couldn’t breath. This situation is all to common for People of Color in America. From the info-graphic above, we can see that although black individuals only have a 22% contraband hit rate, in comparison to 34% in white individuals, black individuals are searched for contraband nearly twice as often, and also arrested nearly twice as often. (Missouri Attorney General, 2013) These statistics are not unique to just Missouri.

In New York City, a study conducted by John Jay College of Criminal Justice Found that Latino individuals were nearly twice as likely, and black individuals nearly 3 times as likely as whites to be summoned into court or to be arrested for a misdemeanor offense. This goes to show that these issues are just local to one area of America, but rather widespread in their affect indicative of a systemic issue.

A study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics data from 1980 to 2008 showed that all across America white on white homicides are roughly intertwined with the amount of black on black homicides. Similarly black on white and white on black homicides are quite close in figure as well. So on top black individuals being found to commit crimes as often, rates of violence are roughly the same between races. So why would the police continue to prey on these minority groups, despite lack of evidence that they are committing crimes more often? The answer to this question is a history of racial disparity in America. Dating back to the Martin Luther King days, black individuals have been mistreated by a systematically oppressive police force. While the brutality of those incidents in the Martin Luther King era was much more frequent, the culture against black individuals and people of color has continued in the police force. Going past the police force, the injustice only gets worse. Once accused of a crime, black individuals are much more likely to serve time or be charged for a crime than white individuals. This arises a double jeopardy of sorts, because not only are these individuals more likely to be accused of a crime, they are also more likely to not get a fair trial. This leaves people of color at great risk to fall victim to the criminal justice system as a whole.

Black lives matter: Eliminating racial inequity in the … (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/black-lives-matter-eliminating-racial-inequity-in-the-criminal-justice-system/.

I wanted to discuss about the importance of Critical Race theory being taught in school. Recently, Republican legislators in states around the country are targeting critical race theory, an academic idea regarding structural racism. At least six states have introduced legislation aimed at restricting the teaching of racism and inequality in American schools. Despite the fact that none of the bills specifically address critical race theory in their text, the legislators who are pushing them through have evoked the educational movement in their support for the legislation. The concept of critical race theory is being misinterpreted and used as a political tool, according to Kimberlé Crenshaw, a founding critical race theorist and Columbia Law School professor. She defined critical race theory as a field that aims to understand how racism has formed US laws and how those laws have continued to impact non-white people’s lives.

Critical race theory, according to academic specialists like Crenshaw, is not taught in K-12 education curricula. Critical race theory is an academic discipline that examines systematic and institutional racism. The government has discriminated against Black, Indigenous, and other people of color through discriminatory policies in housing, employment, criminal justice, education, and other areas. From the beginnings of slavery in America, to Jim Crow laws that divided Black people, to disproportionate criminalization and brutality against Black Americans, Crenshaw claims that racism and white supremacy have persisted in the United States through the legal system. Even though some discriminatory laws or regulations are no longer in place, she claims that they can have long-term consequences for families.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQKRYJnqIdM

The study also looks at the advantages that white people have in society, which is known as “white privilege.” This refers to the idea that due of their skin tone, white people are nevertheless insulated from the repercussions of systemic race-based discrimination. “Race is present in every part of our life,” Jane Bolgatz, associate dean for academic affairs at Fordham University Graduate School of Education, stated. “We won’t see the ways in which society pushes white people forward if we don’t talk about race. As a result, we fail to notice that these winds are not only propelling them forward, but also propelling people of color backward.”

This connects with our discussion about “other”.  There are few people who are against critical race theory while others feel it is necessary. Often the reason is that if the theory is taught or not the one side of the group will also be treated as an other or as an oppressor. It might be difficult to discuss racism with youngsters and students. Conversations regarding racism, the history of prejudice in our country and state, both interpersonal and structural, and current protests will almost certainly be unique to each family, school, and community. There is no single “optimal” or “correct” way to discuss this essential topic with youngsters. At the same time, the evidence shows that we can and should begin teaching kindness, fairness, and human rights to children as early as kindergarten.

Citation:

ABC News Network. (n.d.). ABC News. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://abcnews.go.com/US/critical-race-theory-classroom-understanding-debate/story?id=77627465.

Silverman, D. T. (2021, July 13). Children and racism: The importance of age-appropriate listening and support  . Indiana Youth Institute. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://www.iyi.org/children-and-racism-the-importance-of-age-appropriate-listening-and-support/.

Politics play a major role in the everyday life of an individual in the United States whether someone is involved in politics or not. The basis of our government prides itself in representation of the people, however our incredibly diverse culture has never had sufficient representation in congress. Specifically, black people in America have not had sufficient representation in Congress, making up only 12.5% in the House of Representatives, and 3% in the Senate.  African Americans make up 13% total in the U.S, so at a basic level these statistics seem accurate, to some degree. However, this data seems better only when looking from an outsider’s perspective. Despite the increase in minorities in the country, the representation in Congress does not reflect that. First and foremost, this country prides itself in believing it has a congress to represent all of the people it governs over. While this shows that we are making progress as a system, it also means that this is the first time that old white individuals are not making all of the decisions for an entire, incredibly diverse, country. This ties into Spivak’s question of whether the Subaltern can speak or not. By having a system of representation that typically only directly represents older white individuals, Spivak would determine that minorities are, in a way, unable to speak. 79% of Congress is white, while only 60.4% of Americans are white. This is creating incredible bias in the types of decisions that are made, and implying that the opinion of minorities is not important enough to be represented in congress to then get a voice. If  speaking as a priority for this government, it would be a requirement for minorities in America to have a voice large enough to make political decisions for the future of this country. Additionally, states with a Republican majority tend to have a lesser chance of receiving such diversity due to historical voting habits. Additionally, when states tend to vote along party lines, change on a large scale becomes increasingly difficult. The lack of political diversity in the government can strongly influence the policies that are enacted, and what ethnic groups may be more or less affected by them. Therefore, many of the systemic racism that is present in this country remains unchangeable due to the lack of representation of minorities that are continuously oppressed. This then creates a cycle that is incredibly difficult to break, where more white Americans in   Congress are biased to stand by policies that may negatively influence the non-white community more so than white Americans.

Sources:

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/28/racial-ethnic-diversity-increases-yet-again-with-the-117th-congress/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45914491

The systemic injustice I wanted to showcase out of all my entries is something I believe is a very large deal,
the new Texas law that was presented to ban Abortions. What the law does is allow citizens to sue abortion providers in the state of Texas and bans abortions for women who are over six weeks into their pregnancy. Not only that, but the law allows citizens to sue anyone who aids in another person getting an abortion, yes that means a citizen could even sue an unknowing uber driver for taking them there. This is noticeable a systemic injustice towards women, attempting to ban a woman’s right to choose, which is right everybody is born with, is a direct attack on women. This law challenges a woman’s identity and attempts to dehumanize them by imposing other’s choices on them, even when it may be against their best interests. An example of this is if the pregnancy is threatening a woman’s life (or for any reason), it is her/their choice on whether to carry that pregnancy to term.

Read more about what the Law includes and how it works here:

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/10/texas-abortion-law-ban-enforcement/

There is a strong chance the law does not hold up because it is currently being sued by the federal government, but still, the mere attempt to ban abortions is a threat and, a systemic injustice against women in Texas. If the lawsuit from the Federal Government is successful, then the law would be overturned, and the safety, security, and privacy of women are protected, then this specific systemic injustice would be fixed. This can be related to two concepts from our class, the first being Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex as well as Ortiz Cofer’s Story Of My Body I say this because de Beauvoir’s theory of othering is exactly what Texas Law Makers are trying to do to women who are trying to exercise their right to an abortion, by attempting to turn others against them and offering a cash reward for doing so. I also connected this to Ortiz Cofer’s Story Of My Body because of how women are being prosecuted and judged for their own bodies, and how that is not the state’s business, as well as how the state of Texas is offering money to those that turn them in for who they are.

Throughout our nations history, African American people have been treated as lessers in society and have been severely discriminated against. While we as a nation have done our best to eradicate this issue, it is still an injustice that is embedded in society as some people still do not respect African Americans equally. George Floyd was an African American man who was murdered by a white police officer for no apparent reason. This was a major event in society and sparked nationwide revolts and protests in support of African American people and their place within society. I remember having a conversation with a friend about how awesome we thought the statue of George Floyd in Manhattan was. This statue was made in remembrance of George Floyd and was a symbol for African American people. Recently, the statue was vandalized by a white man. This act of
violence is a clear example of a systemic injustice. This statue was doing no harm to anyone and was simply put up in support of George Floyd’s family and what his death stood for. Instead of tearing down symbols of equality like this, we need everyone to be in support of them and help spread the message that it sends. This type of action shows that society still has a long way to go for full equality of all people without any discrimination or implicit bias. This is a systemic injustice as these types of actions are deeply ingrained in society and there are still many people who don’t believe in the true equality of all and will try to bring others down. The vandalism of this statue is very upsetting and shows that there is still work to be done to eradicate systemic injustices like these. Overall, this is a systemic injustice that I have seen in my daily life and one that needs to be addressed and changed to improve the lives of certain groups of people and ensure that everyone is treated as equals within our society. This systemic injustice can relate to Simone de Beauvoir’s theory of othering. Her theory describes how different aspects of society like culture, politics, and economy are what create instances of inequality and lead to the “othering” of certain groups of people. This act against the George Floyd statue represents this theory as it shows how African Americans as a group are being completely “othered” by society. The white man who vandalized the statue is an example of someone othering African Americans as he didn’t accept what the statue stood for and felt the need to vandalize it out of pure discrimination and hate towards African American people. 

Link to news articles about the vandalism:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/actor-charged-george-floyd-statue-vandalized-nyc-rcna4015

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/manhattan-man-arrested-in-latest-george-floyd-statue-vandalism/3349613/ 

Citation:

“Actor Charged after George Floyd Statue Vandalized in NYC.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 28 Oct. 2021,                       https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/actor-charged-george-floyd-statue-vandalized-nyc-rcna4015.

NBC New York. “Manhattan Man Arrested in Latest George Floyd Statue Vandalism.” NBC New York, NBC New York, 25 Oct.           2021, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/manhattan-man-arrested-in-latest-george-floyd-                  statue-vandalism/3349613/.

Starting with a simple injustice, I thought back to during my High School days; I often heard the

topic of “girls dress code.” I never thought much of it, due to the fact I was a guy and never had

to worry about dress code for myself, wearing the same style every day, sweats or shorts, t-shirt

or sweatshirt until my girlfriend came to me and would tell me about girls in her class getting

yelled at for something they were wearing. She would explain how when they would have a

dress down day, she went to the career center and had a strict dress code, but when they had a

day they could wear anything else but their scrubs, some girls would be sent to the office

because their dress was “too tight” she said or their jeans had a tiny rip in them.   She said it

made her uneasy not knowing what to wear to school on the days she was allowed to dress

down. Leggings were a no-go, but what’s the difference between leggings and skinny jeans? It is

“Distracting” is the staff’s answer. Men don’t get in trouble when wearing a “tight shirt,” but girls

do because it is “too revealing.” How can it be fair that a female’s body is too revealing, but a

male has no problems? Although this never immensely affected me, I saw how it affected the

females, and I firmly believe it is an injustice that should be changed down the line. I understand

there has to be some dress code, but some of the stories I’ve heard seemed like it was a little

too far for a school dress code. This issue can go many for ways outside of school, leading to 

self-confidence problems. For example all females have different body sizes just like every 

other male, so one shirt on a female will fit and look different and if she gets in trouble for it

while another student can wear the same thing but due to her body shape the shirt won’t be 

“too revealing.” Once students notice this then girls will have more trouble feeling comfortable 

in their own skin which is unfair to make anyone feel uncomfortable because they can not change

how they look, or their body shape. Putting this into the minds of young adults will create a bigger

problem as they grow up not knowing if their body shape in certain clothes is “appropriate.” This

can be related to the book we read “The Story of My Body” and feeling comfortable in your own

skin from all body shapes, sizes, and skin colors.

Video Link: https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/gmj/public-records-disproportionate-dress-code-violations-female-students-st-johns-county-schools/77-a2bd2163-f28d-427b-9815-7e9b8b5c8cd1

 The idea of pain bias came after reading an article that listed comments from several women relaying their experiences with doctors when in immense pain. They discussed doctors belittling them or telling them they were lying about their pain. They also compared the handling of their pain with the men in their lives; one stated, “my then-husband had his vasectomy done eight weeks after my fourth baby. During 15 hours of labor, I had gas. For the excruciating pain after, I got OTC pain killers. For the raw, cracked bleeding nipples, I was told, ‘You know how it goes, they’ll toughen up in a couple of weeks (of breastfeeding).’ He was given Valium to take the night before, another one for that morning, and then pain relief for the duration of the five-minute procedure” (Vouloumanos).

Looking further I found extensive examples of these kinds of cases. As well as terms like “Yentl syndrome” which describes “what happens when women present to their doctors with symptoms that differ from men’s — they often get misdiagnosed, mistreated, or told the pain is all in their heads” (Vox). This isn’t just applicable in healthcare, but also the workplace. In a specific case, as described by Laura Kiesel in the article “Women and Pain: Disparities in Experience and Treatment”, a man named David Roberts released a story that discussed his many years of chronic pain. David’s story was redistributed, reposted, and obtained a great amount of sympathy even in the workplace where his boss took his story with “utmost seriousness” (Kiesel). Stories like this should be brought to light, and talked about greatly, but with both men and women alike. In situations like these women are essentially the subaltern, they have no voice, their experiences are overlooked, and their opinions, in comparison with a man, aren’t as serious or important. 

Women’s experiences with pain, like those described in the comments from those women in Vouloumanos’ article, should be made known. If women were heard, even just to make aware of sex discrepancies, then there could be more research and studies done to accommodate for these differences. For instance, Caroline Perez, in the Vox Media article, described a story she heard of someone’s mother dying “of a heart attack because she didn’t present with the ‘typical’ male symptoms.” (Vox).

Whether it’s in the workplace or healthcare this is a clear representation of systemic injustice because women are being ignored, refused appropriate medication, and given improper doses of medication. And the reasoning comes down to biases and societal norms that exhibit an overall preference for men. The impacts of this are substantial, less clearly than death, it’s also worth noting that pain is a very traumatizing experience, especially the kind of pain that comes from most of the procedures listed in these articles. To change this, healthcare professionals have to stop disregarding women’s pain for no other reason than “they didn’t think it would hurt” and women should get more media representation for these experiences to highlight persisting problems in healthcare.

Link to Related Social Media Thread:

A social media thread consisting of nearly two thousand comments from, about, or in response to female individuals who discuss their experiences after visiting the gynecologist.

“r/TwoXChromosomes – Why Are Many Gynecological Procedures Done without Pain Medicine?” Reddit, www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/q470f1/why_are_many_gynecological_procedures_done/

Works Cited

“Everything Is Designed for This Man, Even Drugs.” YouTube, Vox, 18 Nov. 2019, https://youtu.be/CVdn-2KE2bs.

Kiesel, Laura. “Women and Pain: Disparities in Experience and Treatment.” Harvard Health, 9 Oct. 2017, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/women-and-pain-disparities-in-experience-and-treatment-2017100912562.

Samuel, Sigal. “Women Suffer Needless Pain Because Almost Everything Is Designed for Men.” Vox, Vox, 17 Apr. 2019, www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/4/17/18308466/invisible-women-pain-gender-data-gap-caroline-criado-perez.

Vouloumanos, Victoria. “Women Are Sharing Medical Procedures They’ve Had Without Anesthetics Or Pain Meds, And Why Is This So Normal.” BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, 26 Oct. 2021, www.buzzfeed.com/victoriavouloumanos/gynecological-procedures-without-anesthetics-or-pain-meds.

In a global news article I found, racialized health care workers claim there is systemic racism within Montreal health authority. Marie Hott, an African American orderly at a large health authority, explains that she experiences racist comments and discrimination too often. Her patients see that she is caring for them and immediately turn her away because of her color. She even says, “I had patients who told me they didn’t want to see me, to get out of here with my Black face.” This is article was posted two days ago and it is unbelievable that situations like this are still happening today. What’s even worse is when Hott states that when she tells her white supervisor that her patients are becoming violent with her, her supervisor responds that Hott is the one to blame and that her approaches to giving care are the problem. This is a perfect example of systematic injustice of racism and there several other examples of such within society all over the world.

Hott and several others like her are seen as the “others” whether society intends this or not. They are not given a chance simply because of their skin color and those in power feel they have control over them. This concept of the “other” is what creates a divide in our society in which those who are of a different race, ethnicity, or do not meet society’s standards are seen as outcasts. Hott is seen as an outcast in which her race is the reason for this. Her patients disrespect her for something completely out of her control. This is unfair and more needs to be done to change this in which those of color or of a different race need to be respected and given the chance to show they are no less than the rest of society. This situation can also be seen when looking at police brutality towards African Americans as well so that in most situations, those of color are immediately assumed to be in the wrong without getting a chance to defend themselves. Much needs to be done within society to alter this and create a peaceful and equal culture

.